Overdrive (updated) | Quadropolis

Greaserpirate | 2011-07-02 00:25

Overdrive (updated)

[

points ]

(4 votes)

Blurb Fight for energy!

Screenshot Overdrive (updated)

Get original file (349KB)

Detailed description

Long ago, the power station on the rocky mountaintop was built to power both Red City and Blue City equally. However, as both cities grew, they took more and more energy, until war was declared. Will your city drive the other from the station before the generators break down from the strain?

This map was a lot of fun to make. It was based partly off of M.C. Esher's Impossible Cube, but I added more paths to the layout including a passageway encircling the map, a walkway that provides a quick path from one flag to the other but is devoid of any items or cover, and a control room for each team that is protected by one-way energy gateways.

This map was also an excercise in the "vtex" commands, which I hadn't really used that much before.

There are still some minor problems. I can't get the lightning around the generator to be seamless on all 4 sides, and I can't really get the lighting effects I want without /blurlms 2 and /blurskylight 2, which cause some faint lines that shouldn't be there. In any case, criticism is welcome, and this map I fully intend to make as good as I can.

UPDATED JULY 7:
-Removed part of the top platform and replaced it with burning wires. It's still possible to get across, but it's harder. The minimap now shows an S for Sauerbraten.
-deleted some of the jumppads so players have to take the long way over the top
-improved jumppads- they are now fully visible and fit the texture
-added a ramp that goes from the ground to the top platform so people on the ground aren't just stuck.
-curved most ramps in the center
-made pickups less concentrated in the center
-added trim and detailed textures to hallways
-made geometry around "ceil1a" texture fit the texture, and changed the decor. (It now looks kind of like a futuristic jukebox.)
-added lots of boxes for cover, and more ammo, to the flat hallway along the outside. Now players will have incentive to go there even in insta.
-added a flag room that's level with the first floor
-removed "trak5/tile3e.jpg" texture on diagonal surfaces.
-replaced texture in long slanted hallway
-added shadows
-changed water color from murky polluted green to fluorescent toxic green
-added intricate tangle of pipes in water
-added a death boundary outside of the map (If you cross it, your city's Command will activate your implanted cyanide pill).
-made pulsating textures less bright

Map file overdrive.zip (6.44 MB)

Rating

points

(4 votes)

Comments

Jorge | 2011-07-02 11:04

First of all: One can see how much work you invested in this, so don't take this the wrong way.

There is some really great geometry, taking Esher's cube is a great idea, as well as the one-way gateways. I also like the colorful sci-fi theme.

But in my opinion, this map unfortunatelly has some problems.
- The inner part of the map looks great, personally, I think some of the more colorful textures distract me from all the nice geometry, but that may be just me. But the outer part is just plane boring. No atmosphere, no details, it just looks like being made in 5 minutes. That wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't accessible, but in this map it is meant to be an integral part of the gameplay.
- The weapon placement is also far from good. Walking the passageway encircling the map, you get tons of ammo when you go first, the player behind you gets nothing.
- While the one-way passages seem like a nice idea, I don't see the purpose other than preventing spawncamping (which isn't a problem there anyways, as there is not much ammo, health and armor)
- The two straightforward ways to score (down, throught the middle, jumppad, score + stay up, run, score) are way too quick. Why should anyone go anywhere else? This basically makes every other part of the map (although so nicely designed) being nothing more than a place to get ammo.

I can see where you were going with this layout: Short way without items vs. long way with items = create another tactical layer. But I'm afraid this won't work (it definitelly won't work in iCTF, but I understand this shall be a CTF map).

This would be my rating:
- Texturing/geometry: inside 9 + outside 1 (which would have to be considered equally important in your map) = 5
- Layout/gameplay: 4 (I don't think it works) +1 (for the idea of adding that gameplay layer) +1 (for spawncamping-proof) -1 (for not being necessarily so) -1 (for the "/newmap"-feeling in the accessible(!) outer part) = 4

I won't rate this yet, because I'd have to play it with at least 8 players to make sure my gameplay-bashing is justified. Assuming I'm right, how could things be fixed? What comes to my mind is this: Make the roof more interesting, put some obstacles, slow the player down up there. Then add some spherical glass roof on top of everything to make the outer world inaccessible.

Suicizer | 2011-07-02 11:20

The screenshot says a lot about the map, which is a good thing.

The theme, it seems to be some futuristic-like, but it actually isn't. Be sure to make clear wich theme it is.

The texturing, there are a lot of textures which aren't fitting each other or the geometry. Be sure to fix this and let textures work together instead of separate.
Even they aren't working together, most of them are fitting to the theme.
Nice idea with those particles, but be sure they aren't flickering that fast, because it's pretty irritating for the eye. Also make the pulsating texture which has been used in asgard, less bright pulsating.

The geometry is very sharp and edgy with very much contrast. Make sure if you create an edge, that it flows into another shape smoothly (instead of cutting it of and bending it sharply to another direction).

The detailing isn't that great. There aren't a lot of details to check out.

The lighting is pretty bad. Some glass window seems to be the lightsource of some green light, while there is only a metal texture inside it. This is very unrealistic.
Make sure there is some contrast in the lighting either. It doesn't always have to be lighted. Shadows aren't a bad thing you know.
You also have a lot of light errors in the map.

The clipping/noclipping is bad, because there seems to be none. Be sure the player stays in the map, instead of walking to the mountains.

The flow isn't that great. The map has a lot of ramps which are slowing down the flow immensely. I would suggest to use jumppads or just stairs, because they don't slow down the flow.
Make sure jumppads are sightable, instead of placing them randomly. Like you added a jumppad to some higher platform in a long hallway, be sure that the player can see that there's a jumppad to that higher platform.

The gameplay pretty sucks. Pickups are placed pretty bad, because they are all very close to each other. Be sure to spread them out some more and use "entselsnap" some more.
The fact that you can go outside the map (by using those jumppads) isn't a great thing and breaks up the gameplay. Be sure to keep the player inside the map, instead of forming their own duels outside of it.

Overall, there the map is far away from finished, but it's a start. I won't vote yet...

Greaserpirate | 2011-07-04 15:15

Just to clear some things up,

can you be specific about which textures you think are unfitting?

I don't understand what you mean about the theme not being clear. What makes it not futuristic?

Also, what do you mean by the ramps slowing down flow?

I agree that having a bunch of people derping around outside the boundaries would be really annoying, but I don't really have any ideas how to make players stay inside the map without it feeling like there's an invisible wall holding everyone in. Maybe the glass-dome idea would work, but I have a feeling it's not going to look very good. I could always not put waypoints there and trust human players not to go too far. Really, what's the incentive?

As for the flickering textures, lack of detail, faulty lighting, jumppad visibility, and pickup placement, I'll work on it.

Suicizer | 2011-07-07 09:24

Ok, here a list,

These textures aren't fitting their geometry:
- "trak5/tile3e.jpg" This is more a texture for geometry wich isn't diagonal, but just cubistic (being on x and y-axis only, not a combination). The hole
floor of the center is covered with it.
- "trak5/floor2f.jpg" This texture is designed for small areas, like small space-like floating platforms, doorways which stand close to each other, etc. It isn't ment to be as a main floor texture at all.
- "trak5/pits1a.jpg" This texture is also designed for the same purpose as the "floor2f" texture. It's located just under the pulsating pillar. What about taking a more dark and plain texture on such place?
- "trak5/panel11a.jpg" This texture is designed to be showed of completly or only certain parts, but on a more subtle way. It's located at the same place where the "pits1a" texture is. I also advice to replace the texture for a more plain and darker texture.
- "thingy1a.jpg" You've used them to show up a jumppad, but it's not fitting the sides of the jumppad at all. Take a different texture or change the geometry.
- "ceil1a.jpg" You've used it as a wall texture in an immense size. This wouldn't be that bad if the geometry follows the curves of the texture. But the texture is probably designed as a jumppad- or boxtexture.
- "trak5/comp1a.jpg" This texture is designed to be placed on a wall, or on geometry to create a certain "modeling" look. You've placed it as a trimming instead, in another room near the electical pulsating bar.
- "trak5/crete1e.jpg" You've used this texture between the doorways, while it actually is designed for crates. Replace it for some more fitting textures.

These textures aren't fitting the light:
- "trak5/light2a.jpg" This texture is located in the "spawn-bases" of each team, but aren't having a lightsource at all. This break realism.
- "trak5/trim1b.jpg" You've used it as a lightsource-texture while it actually like it saying, should be used for trimming. I recommend you replace it for an (untiled) light-source texture. They are placed on all places where green light shines.

These details are missing:
- Trimming edges, this would create way more detail and smooths down texture- and geometry-contrasts.
- Models, small artifacts, etc. The map isn't broken at all, everything is perfect in shape. This is pretty unrealistic.

These geometry structures aren't fitting the theme at all:
- The doorways itself would definetly fit more into a medieval, gothic-like theme, instead of a space-like theme. Round them up some more or make them first lead outside, then come back when leading above. You would get the effect like the "metl4" doorways.
- Curves have been used, but at the same time, other structures (like the ramps in the centre) get chopped of. Make sure to take 1 style of geometry and stick to it.

The gameplay can be improved by these points:
- Delete all playerstarts on those rocky floors outside the map. The flag could be placed in a room which is on the same or lower height as the upper floor of the center is. At this moment, you only have 1 path to reach flag any ways.
- Replace the ramps jumppads, because ramps really do slow down the flow, check out your self. After some testing, I found out if you would replace the ramps for stairs, you wouldn't move any faster or slower, but it do creates a less predictable gameplay. But because of the theme I would still go for those jumppads...
- Add more layers of platforms into the long hallways, to make it less boring.
- Clip the hole outside area. Players shouldn't be there if there's no flag at there.
P.S.
Any logical reason why such name for a space-map?

nothing | 2011-07-07 08:07

Hi! You asked how to keep players near the station not going to far away? Lets guess a powerstation which is fighted for should be protected? Why not put a laserfence around it covered with death?
Do it high enough so it cant be jumped over. And please inform me when done, cause your map is already on maplounge server, and I can say we had fun playing it. Whatever Suicizer says may be right, but fun also comes with new content, so dont let your head hang down and create more stuff. Cu nothing

Jorge | 2011-07-07 12:01

Semi-Off-Topic: You are more and more convincing me to try maplounge, As I've stated above, I've some concerns about the gameplay on this map. Now you say you had fun playing it, so I might well be wrong. Only one way to find out for sure: Will try maplounge as soon as I have some spare time. Keep up the good work, nothing and greaserpirate!

Greaserpirate | 2011-07-08 04:31

I have one more question: I noticed that the edge of the water doesn't always match up with the geometry when I'm looking at it from high above. It's pretty minor but I still wonder why it happens and how to fix it.

RaZgRiZ | 2011-07-08 12:48

You can't avoid that. I've addressed it before, like 2 years ago, but i never really got an answer as to why water looks like that. Raising water fog can make it denser around the edges, but then it looks like ooze rather than water.

Suicizer | 2011-07-08 14:47

Seems like you really have improved the map.
I'm still missing some things, like:
- Trimmings on edges. This creates a way more professional and finished look to geometry and textures.
- Less pickups in corners, like you've putted 5 riflerounds very close to each other.

Some questions:
- Why you still have that odd looking glass floor under the quad, in your map? It doesn't really fits to the theme and takes a lot of wtr for actually nothing.
- How did you actually created such "colourblending" on those "light1a" textures of trak5? It looks pretty nice and I like it ^^!

I don't think this map will ever be an awesome map. But at least it could get a map wich is "ok" to me. I'll give 4/10 for now (because gameplay isn't good yet, flow could be better, lighting, geometry, texturing and detail are improved but still not like it could be, etc).